Buoyant safety light



Nov. 20, 1945. e. M. MARR 2,

BUOYANT SAFETY LIGHT i Filed June 5', 1944 2 sheets-s eet 1 Nov. 20, 194-5. e. M. MARR '7 7' 72,389,265

' BUOYANT SAFETY LIGHT Filed June 5, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 5111;011:013 H60 z 'ge JL; Mfarl;

Patented Nov. 20, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BUOYANT SAFETY LIGHT.

George M. Marr, New Yrk,,N Y.

Application June .5, 1944, Serial No. 538,353

8 Claims.

This invention is directed to an improvement in a safety light, which, while adapted for many other uses, is primarily designed for use in connection with water-borne life boats, life rafts,

life preservers and other life saving apparatus.

when in position on shipboard or the like ready for use with the life saving apparatus the air contained in the casing is obviously subjected to varying ranges of extremely difierent temperatures. This may well follow from the actual use of the light when in the water but primarily results from the change in the atmospheric temperature in the different localities visited by the ship before the light is brought into use. These temperature variations will obviously change the internal air pressure of the casing, and this change maybe suflicient, in extreme cases to open a seam or seams ofthe casing under ex- 'cessive internal pressure or cause collapse of the casing under excessive external pressure. An automatic equalization of the internal and external pressure of the casings, functioning under any and all conditions will obviously relieve stresses incident to extreme temperature changes. This provision constitutes an important feature of the present invention.

A further and-important object of the inventionis the utilization of the vital parts in a unit assembly, permitting such parts to he conveniently removed from or applied to the casing as a single unit. This materially facilitates the initial assemblage of such vital parts and equally facilitates their removal and replacement for adjustmenhrepair or removal.

.The invention is illustrated in the preferred form in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation showing the improved light in actual use.

Figure 2 is asection of same on the line of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detail, view of the battery, lamp and connections.

Figure -4 is a detail sectional viewof the saiety valve.

Figure la isan end view of the bolt forming part of the safety valve.

Figure 5 is a detail view showing the position of the safety valve.

Figure 6' is an elevation of the improved light when in storage position.

Figure '1 is a detail perspective view of the battery, lamp and connections. 7

The improved light comprises a casing l, which preferably but not necessarily is circular in form and has a greater length than diameter. The casing is closed by rigid bottom 2 and is open at the top for its full diameter except :for the provision of an inner extending marginal flange 8 of relatively narrow width and serving to secure the head in place on the body of the cylinder, as will later appear.

The vital elements of the light, that is, the illuminating means per se, the energy source therefor, and the switch for controlling the flow of current are for the purpose of the present invention assembled as a unit. involves a battery-plate 4 preferably of cruci- --form shape in plan centrallyiormed an internally threaded opening =5. The ends of the arms of the plate are recessed at 6 to receive the ends of straps 1 removably secured by screws 8 taking into the "plate. The straps 1 are utilized to removably support a source of electrical energy as a battery 9, the straps extending from the plate down and around the battery .and upwardly relative thereto to he :removably secured to the plate. The battery is thus supported in to the points of the battery and are passed upwardly through the tube in. At the :upper end the conductors it and .19 are connected in an appropriate manner -.to a lamp socket 21:3, the conductors being o sufficient length to permit "the lam-p socket to extend about. the upper end .of the tube Id. In order that. the apparatus may'remain in such relation that the. lamp M to be removably placed in the socket 1:3 would remain dark whiiethe safety light is not in actual use and yet, be automatically .energizei when the .saietyrlight is inverted for use, an automatic switch lfi bridges a break in one of the conduc- S-ueh assembly I tors H, and is of a character to permit t to be readily and conveniently housed in the tube ID. The switch is here shown as an insulating tube l6, preferably of glass, sealed at bothends with one end carrying in spaced relation the terminals I! and 18 of .the interrupted conductor II. A globule of mercury I9 is placed in the tube from which it would be obviously apparent that when the safety light is in inverted position as indicated in Figure 6, as is its position when not in actual use; the mercury globule will be free of the terminals l! and I8 and no current will how to the lamp It. When, however, the safety light is inverted or placed upright the mercury globule bridges the spaced terminals 11 and 18 and closes the circuit to the lamp 14., maintaining a constant light as long as the battery is and external pressures of the casing thus in order to avoid rupture of the casing under undue expansion or contraction of the internal air pressure relative to the external pressure resulting from temperature changes. This compensating means is in the form of a valve which is mounted in a wall '21 of the head in a position to be conveniently accessible when required. The valve is of a simple type and includes an element 36 in the form of a nut which is welded or otherwise'secured in the wall 21 and arranged in line with an opening 31 in the wall, that is, from the interior to the exterior of the casing. A threaded bolt 38 is designed to cooperate with the nut, the head 39 of the bolt having a screw kerf for convenient turning of the bolt. The bolt 38 below the head is cut away throughout its length to the reflector element on thelower surface of the latter formed with an opening ,23 concentric with the. opening 2|.,WhlCh,0pfil1iI1g 23s is interiorlythreaded to permit theremovable association therewithof the uppertube l0.;,The upper surface of the reflector element 20 --is inherently formed or provided t0;insure a desirable reflection of the light of the lamp M; t

- It will thusbe seen that; the vital parts of the safety light arewhen assembled, a connected unit including the battery,- the battery plate, the tube,

the reflector element, the conducting wires, the

lamp socketandpthe controllingswitch. This, unit -may be assembledand removed'from the casing l in a single movement to'facilitate readyand convenient-access to the variouspartsof the unit for repair or replacement. It is,.of course,;obvious that the opening in the upperend ,of easing I is of suflicient diameter to permit the passage ofthe battery9 therethrough.. .1

The bottom 2 of the casin is weighted at 24 .to ins'urethat when in the water; or in other; op-

cerative position the casing will remainv upright;

the flange 28 .over a flange-.lofI-casing I, with an 7 interposed gasket 30. Bolts 3| rigidiwithfiange 3,.extendthrough gasket 30 and-flange 28 and are rovided with thumb nuts T32; beyond flange 28 to provide a'rigid sealedjuncture at this point. The upper end ofthelhead or particularly the wall 2! isprovided with a Fresnel lens33 for the dispersion of the light,,the juncture of: the lens and wall'21'being, 0f course, sealed; A guard may be carried by the wall 3'! to-overlie and pro- :tect the lens. If' -preferred and;as desired the tube. 16 'of the'switch may have a protective coating35, the sole requirement here being that the switch in its entirety may be .of such adiameter as to readily fit within the tube!!! while avoiding interference withthe'conductors. 5'."

An essential vand particularly important detail of the: present invention isthe .meansfor .automatically compensating for variations'in internal outer surface of the wall 21.

provide a fiat margin 40. A flexible disc 41 preferably of fabric is fitted over the bolt 38 and bears between the head 39 of the bolt and the The opening of the disc 4| corresponds to the normal diameter vof the'bolt s0 that when the disc is in place there isan opening 4! between the inner margin of the disc opening and the cutaway portion of the bolt. The disc acts to seal the margin between the head of the bolt and the nut but under excessive pressure on either side of the valve the air will flow to the area of lesser pressure bypassing through the opening afforded between the bolt hole in the disc and the flat face of the bolt forcing its way inwardly, oroutwardly between one .or both surfaces of; the disc and the adjusting surface of the bolt head or the nut.

; Underthis construction if during long storage onshipboard orthe like. of the safety light temperature conditions of the areas in which the ship may move-are such as to tend to a variation of .the pressure; of the air in the otherwise hermetically sealed safety flight, the valve will immediately and automatically compensate for this variation in pressure and, either permit the internal pressure of the casing to be raised or lowered in accordance with the external pressure by permitting the free interchange of the air as previously .described.

When not in use thesafetylight is held on lowermost and in which position the switch l5 prevents energization of the lamp, and in this inverted position the headof the safety light is inserted in anjelongated cap 42 pivotally supported on an angle armf43 of an upstanding bracket secured to the ship or; other fixture.

:The bracket above the cap is provided with spring arms di in which the case maybe moved 'and t'er'n'p'ora'rily secured and the" upper end of the bracket has a lateral arm 46 which whenthe light is in place' overlies and bears rather snugly on the bottom 201 the ght: I When required for use the safety light maybe readily withdrawn from the holder by swinging the upper end of the cas- -ingout of the spring arms 45, with the cap 42 swinging in accordance withthe safety light movement, whereupon the safety light maybe readily'lifted from the cap and thrown overboard ing the light ,on shipboard orthe like has anadditional and important function.

It will be apparent that with cap 42 in place, that is, when the light is supported on shipboard or the like, the light-emitting source of the safety light is completely covered. It not infrequently happens that when the safety light i in inoperative position on the ship or other carrier the vibration of the ship may have a tendency to cause the mercury l9 of the switch l to be intermittently jarred to a position to bridge the terminals I1 and I8 and thus energize the lamp. With the cap 42 in place this intermittent energization of the lamp is not exteriorly visible and thus the possible flashing of the lamp even when in inoperative position and while inverted does not permit exterior visibility of the lamp.

What is claimed is:

1. A buoyant safety light, including a hermetically sealed casing arranged to float partly submerged, a source of light carried by and visible abovethe upper end of the casing, a source of energy for said light source and service connections between the light source and energy source, and an automatic and adjustable air relief means carried by the casing above its normal submergence line to equalize air pressure internally and externally of the casing toavoid collapse of the housing under atmospheric changes.

. 2. A buoyant safety light including a casing closed at the bottom and open at the top, a lens at the upper end of the casing, means for connecting the lens to the upper end of the casing for closing and sealing such upper end, and a unit in assembly including a battery, a reflector disc, and a tubualr member formed at one end to receive the battery and provide a battery carrier and at the other end engaging the reflector disc, saidtubular member above the battery serving to house the electrical connections between a battery to be held in the carrier and a light source to be held above the reflector, the assembly to be removable as a unit into and out of the casing proper through the open top thereof when freed from the sealing means.

3. A construction as defined in claim 2 wherein the battery carrier is of skeleton form separable from the unit to permit the application of a battery.

4. A construction as defined in claim 2 wherein I the unit assembly houses an automatic switch to energize the light source from the battery in one position of the safety light and to deenergize the light source in another position of such light.

5. A construction as defined in claim 2 wherein the closure includes a cylindrical wall, and wherein an automatic relief means is mounted in said wall for equalizing internal and external pressures of the casing.

6. A construction as defined in claim 2 wherein the closed bottom of the casing is provided with a guide to receive and center the lower end of the battery carrier.

'7. A construction as defined in claim 2 wherein the battery carrier include a head centrally formed to removably receive the tube and a'plurality of straps removably secured to the head and depending below the same to receive and prevent independent movement of a battery.

8. A safety light including a casing, a light diffusing member carried by the casing, a light source within said member, a battery in the easing, a circuit connecting the battery and light source, a switch to automatically close'and open the circuit when the safety light is in the upright and inverted positions respectively, and a frame to support the safety light in an inverted position when on shipboard or the like and not in use, said frame including spring arms to grip the casing of the safetylight and a hingedly-connected cap to receive the light source and providing a swinging base on which the light may be swung outwardly from the frame, said cap being of a size to prevent any rays from the light source being visible.

GEORGE M. MARR. 

